Remember them

18. Preparing for NEET at a Nagpur coaching centre. Left a note saying she no longer had courage to take the retest after the May 3 paper was cancelled over the leak.

Source: Indian Express: Nagpur aspirant note and retest fear

18. Father told police she was under severe stress after NEET-UG 2026 was cancelled over the paper leak. Accidental death report registered; probe into the family's claim.

Source: The Hindu: Latur farmer's statement and police probe

22. Found in his rented room after the May exam was cancelled. Family said he was under severe mental stress. Second Sikar case followed within a month.

Source: India Today: Sikar aspirant after cancellation

22. Third NEET attempt cancelled by the leak. Left a short note apologising and saying he was leaving this world. Reported ahead of the June 21 retest.

Source: Indian Express: second Sikar aspirant death

21. Third attempt. Family said he was confident of clearing the May paper, then broke after cancellation. Widely reported with PTI family statements.

Source: Times Now: Lakhimpur Kheri aspirant and family account

18. Living in Delhi for coaching. Police and family said she was struggling with anxiety after the May exam was scrapped and the retest was ordered.

Source: Outlook: Delhi cases in national toll after leak

16. Medical aspirant from Bihar in rented lodging. Reports said she was confident after the May paper; cancellation left her under severe stress despite family support.

Source: Outlook: Jharkhand aspirant named in national compilation

19. Of Vellalapuram near Edappadi. One of three Tamil Nadu aspirants police confirmed died in the four days before the June 21 retest.

Source: Indian Express: three TN deaths before retest

19. Of Endapatti near Palacode. Preparing for the June 21 retest at home after Namakkal coaching. Police registered a case after she died the evening before the exam.

Source: The Hindu: Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri aspirants

20. Of Bagalur Road near Hosur. Third attempt on May 3; family and police said he was crushed when that paper was cancelled. Note said he could not bear the mental agony of NEET.

Source: The Hindu: Krishnagiri aspirant note and police account

24. Preparing at home for the June 21 retest. Dehradun police reported she left a note apologising to her father.

Source: Khaleej Times: Dehradun aspirant ahead of retest

17. Died days before the June 21 retest after falling from his residential complex in Tragad. Police said no note was recovered; inquest opened.

Source: Times of India: Ahmedabad aspirant before re-exam

18. Father said she had performed well in the May paper and there was no family distress; he suspected fear of sitting again. Police said no note was left.

Source: Khaleej Times: Kalaburagi aspirant named in national roundup

YouTube journalist (Bastar Junction). Exposed irregularities in a newly built road contract. Lured to a shed, beaten to death, body dumped in a septic tank and sealed with a fresh concrete slab. Police charge sheet named contractor cousins and a supervisor. RSF called it murder for reporting road corruption. This is the cement case reels keep showing.

Source: RSF: reporter murdered for exposing road contract corruption · NDTV: killed for road construction fraud report, charge sheet · The Hindu: body found in septic tank

TV reporter. Sting on alleged police bribes for illegal sand mining. Asked for police protection after threats that he would be crushed under a truck. CCTV showed a dumper swerve and run over his motorcycle near a police station. Colleagues alleged murder. Police opened an SIT on accident vs murder. CM recommended CBI. Motive contested. The truck still happened.

Source: CPJ: Sandeep Sharma · Scroll: protection plea before the truck hit · Indian Express: CM recommends CBI probe

Freelance journalist. Exposed illegal sand mining and land grabbing. Kidnapped, strangled, and set on fire. Press reports and RTI-attack tallies list him among reporters killed for mining coverage.

Source: Wikipedia: list of journalists killed in India (Kothari) · Wikipedia: attacks on RTI activists (Kothari entry)

IIT-trained NHAI engineer. Wrote to the Prime Minister's Office about contractor corruption on the Golden Quadrilateral. Asked that his identity be protected. Identity leaked. He was killed. Whistleblower protection debates in India still start with his name.

Source: Wikipedia: Satyendra Dubey

IIM Lucknow graduate. Indian Oil sales officer who sealed petrol pumps selling adulterated fuel. Shot dead. Court later convicted the oil dealer and others. Proof that one honest inspection can cost a life.

Source: Wikipedia: Manjunath Shanmugam

RTI activist. Exposed illegal limestone mining near Gir. Shot dead outside the Gujarat High Court after naming powerful interests in a petition. A CBI court convicted a former BJP MP and others in 2019. Gujarat High Court later acquitted them, citing investigation flaws. Murder is not disputed. Who ordered it remains contested in court.

Source: The Hindu: CBI court life sentences (2019) · The Hindu: High Court acquittal (later)

RTI activist. Exposed corrupt land deals. Killed on a morning walk. One of the early cases that made national media admit RTI work can be a death sentence in India.

Source: EPW: death of an activist (Shetty cited) · Wikipedia: attacks on RTI activists in India

RTI and environment activist. Shot outside her home. Had filed dozens of RTIs on mining, tiger funds, and police reforms. Convictions followed years later. Another name for the mining-mafia pattern.

Source: EPW: death of an activist · Wikipedia: attacks on RTI activists in India

Young IPS officer. Trying to stop illegal sand mining from the Chambal. Run over by a tractor trolley of the sand mafia in broad daylight. Officers die for the same mafia journalists expose.

Source: Down To Earth: mining mafia killings including Narendra Kumar

Bureau chief, Jansandesh Times. Shot while riding home after reporting illegal sand mining. Police named mining contractors as alleged masterminds. Arrests followed. Sand money kills reporters.

Source: CPJ: Karun Misra · BOOM: murder and illegal mining coverage risk

Editor of Gauri Lankesh Patrike. Shot outside her home. Known for sharp criticism of Hindutva politics and right-wing power. Murder trial linked accused to an extremist network. Press freedom groups called it an assault on dissent.

Source: BBC: journalist shot dead in Bangalore · Scroll: India deadly for journalists after her killing

Scholar and rationalist. Shot at his home. Had criticised superstition and caste orthodoxy. Investigated alongside a pattern of attacks on writers who challenged majoritarian politics.

Source: BBC context in Gauri Lankesh coverage (Kalburgi cited) · The Hindu: Kalburgi murder case reporting archive

Anti-superstition activist. Shot while on a morning walk. Fought blind faith and exploitative godmen. Later probes linked accused to the same extremist ecosystem named in other rationalist killings.

Source: BBC: pattern of rationalist killings (Dabholkar cited) · The Hindu: Dabholkar murder coverage

Communist leader and author. Shot with his wife. Wrote against communal history myths. Case tracked with other Maharashtra rationalist murders.

Source: BBC: Pansare named in pattern of assassinations · The Hindu: Govind Pansare topic page

Freelance journalist. Covered local corruption and alleged links of a minister. Died after suffering burn injuries. He had accused police of setting him on fire. Case became a CPJ emblem of impunity against reporters who chase graft.

Source: CPJ: Dangerous pursuit (Jagendra Singh case)

Reporter with Nai Dunia. Shot outside his home after covering local crime and corruption. Investigation delays and missing evidence documented by press-freedom groups.

Source: CPJ: Dangerous pursuit (Umesh Rajput)

Bureau chief for Hindustan. Shot while covering crime and local power. Family fought for CBI attention for years. Listed in national tallies of journalists killed for their work with almost no convictions.

Source: Counterview / GCF: journalists killed 2014–19 (Ranjan cited)

Editor of Rising Kashmir. Shot near his office. Covered conflict, politics, and rights under heavy risk. Editors Guild and press bodies condemned the killing as an attack on independent reporting.

Source: Counterview / GCF: editors killed including Bukhari · BBC: Shujaat Bukhari shot dead in Srinagar

Reporter with Odia daily Sambad. Killed after publishing on child labour in a cashew factory. One of the rare journalist-murder cases with a later conviction and life sentences for the factory owner and accomplices.

Source: Thakur Foundation: attacks on journalists 2014–19 (Acharya conviction) · The News Minute: conviction rarity among journalist killings

Aaj Tak special correspondent. Collapsed and died while interviewing a Vyapam-linked family. Doctors cited heart attack; family and colleagues disputed the circumstances. CBI later examined medical records. Cause remains contested; listed because he died on the Vyapam trail.

Source: Indian Express: reporter on Vyapam trail dies · CPJ: Dangerous pursuit (Akshay Singh case)